Low-coordinate and Multiply-bonded Compounds of Silicon, Germanium and Tin

这个项目涉及碳化合物中不寻常的重金属同系物的基本化学。金属双阴离子-含有硅、锗或锡原子的五元环化合物-带有两个负电荷，并在环上离域。这些独特的双阴离子的反应有望产生一系列含有金属-碳双键的新型化合物，以及一系列显著的稳定的双自由基，其中包含两个未配对的电子。还将探索稳定硅烯的合成和化学--硅的化合物处于不寻常的氧化态2，而不是通常的4。一些稳定的硅烯用作不饱和有机化合物聚合的催化剂的过程将被研究。凭借这一奖项，有机和高分子化学计划支持威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校化学系的罗伯特·韦斯特教授的研究。尽管我们对含碳化合物的化学已有了相当深入的了解，但与碳密切相关的硅和锗的化学却相对不发达。韦斯特教授正在研究一系列化合物的合成和反应化学，其中一个或多个碳原子被硅、锗或锡取代。这些研究对于发展我们对元素周期表中其他元素的化学的理解是至关重要的。此外，韦斯特教授目标化合物的不同寻常的结构有望在包括聚合反应在内的实际反应化学中取得潜在进展。

This project addresses the fundamental chemistry of unusual heavy-metal congeners of carbon compounds. Metallole dianions - five-membered ring compounds containing silicon, germanium or tin atoms - bear two negative charges which are delocalized over the rings. Reactions of these unique dianions are expected to give rise to a wide range of novel compounds containing metal-to-carbon double bonds, as well as to a remarkable series of stable diradicals, containing two unpaired electrons. The synthesis and chemistry of stable silylenes - compounds of silicon in the unusual oxidation state of 2 rather than the customary 4 - will also be explored. The process by which some stable silylenes serve as catalysts for the polymerization of unsaturated organic compounds will be investigated.With this award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program is supporting the research of Professor Robert West, of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Although our understanding of the chemistry of compounds containing carbon has become quite sophisticated, the chemistry of carbon's closely related relatives, silicon and germanium, is comparatively undeveloped. Professor West is studying the synthesis and reaction chemistry of a series of compounds in which one or more carbon atoms are replaced by silicon, germanium or tin. These studies are of fundamental importance in developing our understanding of the chemistry of the other elements in the periodic table. In addition, the unusual structures of Professor West's target compounds promise potential advances in practical reaction chemistry, including polymerization reactions.